Question Friday 01

This is coming to you late because it has been a long day and I haven't had time to sit down and properly answer the questions. But here is the first of many successful *crosses fingers* Question Fridays.

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1. How long do you expect the books to be?

This is tough to answer. After doing some research, it really comes down to the genre of the book for a ballpark word count to be answered. Since this does fall under fantasy and it is geared towards young adults and adults, my estimate is that each one in the trilogy will be around 100,000 words. That's quite a lot, but I'm a bit long winded when it comes to certain aspects. From what I've read, publishers are unlikely to put the money into a 'long' first time writer. My goal is to go all out, do what I have to do to make a compelling story and see how it goes.

2. Also, do you like chocolate mousse? (from the same commenter as the first)

Yes.

3. What sources/ideas inspired you to come up with your story idea?

I think the plot was a long time coming. The idea of this Greek epic of sorts has always been something I wanted to tackle, but was too afraid to jump in. I am so inspired by Greek Mythology. I have a love for the insanity that goes on in those stories, from the gods to the creatures. It is a huge resource for me when it comes to finding names, characters, themes and so much more. In everything I write, I always seem to compare it to any given myth to find where the themes come from.

The steampunk genre was scary at first. I hadn't exactly chosen it immediately. I knew I wanted to write a fantasy, because I wanted that big, unknown world feeling to it and I like the idea of creating your own world and not having to make sure you fact check every two minutes to make sure you are getting it all down right. I have so many ideas, that I knew I could combine them all into a fantasy. But, then again, I didn't just want your J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy, or C.S. Lewis. I needed something less whimsical and more rooted. I started researching and looking around the internet and when I finally saw the movie Treasure Planet, I knew I came across something good. Then, when Stardust came out, I found that it too had some steampunk tendencies. The idea of having gadgets, technology and all that metal around gave me a really interesting addition to the plot I already had.

I look to the internet for inspiration a lot. I'll just type in steampunk into a search engine or search for forums, character designs, costume designs and all that kind of art that comes with it. It just continued to expand in my head and I decided that more than anything, there was a good chance I could combine the old world of ancient Greece with the metal of steampunk to get something possibly very weird and hopefully very intriguing.

4. I'm very interested in the history of The Passing of the Crown ritual. Is it different from when the tradition first began, or has it remained completely unchanged since the beginning?

The Passing of the Crown in regards to the Quest of Kings has not ever changed. The same ritual has always applied. As far as anyone in modern times knows, there was never a time when it didn't work that way. As for the passing to a daughter, that is a more recent accepted tradition. Far back, just like in the real world, women were not allowed to take places of power. Their was no exception. The crown could only pass to a male heir, never a male married into the family. Eventually, their came a king and queen with only daughters and the eldest daughter fought like hell to take her place in the royal family. She threatened to go on the Quest of Kings, without permission or warning, just to prove her point. Laws were changed, tradition was altered and she was allowed to take the crown under the stipulation that she married first.

5.Do you have any particular music that gets the gears churning on the STC universe yet?

Not exactly. I haven't had the opportunity to actually do any writing for the books just yet. It has all been notes and planning. So, all the music I listen to is just whatever I feel like using at the moment. A lot of times I will put on instrumentals or a string quartet so I'm not distracted by lyrics. But, I will let you know when I find what band or music takes hold of me as I write.

6. So, technically a daughter could, say, have her brothers offed and then take the crown without ever having to do the quest, assuming she's the evil back stabbing type?

Assuming the worst, yes that is entirely plausible. That is, if she can have her brother(s) killed without anyone finding out it was her who set it up. Women can be sentenced to death. If they can inherit the crown, they certainly can die for it.

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Thanks for reading! I hope this week's posts were worth your time and that you lovingly pass it on to more people so we can get a bigger fan base going. I can't wait for next weeks posts. I hope to have the Legend of the Oracle written as well as a family history of the de Arques dynasty.

See you Monday!

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A Woman's Role

Post is coming at you early today. I babysit and it makes it hard to post and watch a three-year-old at the same time. It can be done if needed, but I may as well get it out of the way if I can. Not out the way, because I'm enjoying this, even with so few followers at the moment. I'm trying to decide how to continue on with next week's posts. Today, I think I'm going to do a little backtracking, since there was a few questions about passing the crown yesterday and I want to clear that up.

Also, I am dubbing Fridays as 'Question Fridays,' which means on Thursday you can comment on the post and ask me a question. It can be about me personally, characters, the whole steampunk world, my version of it and I'll even let you ask completely random questions about whatever comes to mind. Hopefully you keep them appropriate. We'll see how well that goes over.

On to business,

There was a few questions regarding passing the crown and what that entails for any daughters of the royal family. I wanted to clarify, firstly, that just because the crown cannot pass to a female heir first, and must pass to a male, does not mean that women in this world are less than men. It is due to part tradition and part logic that the heir is preferably a male. The reason I call it logic is that, though I believe that women can do anything men can do, it doesn't mean they were meant to do anything men can do. I agree that a woman can rule a country. Look at Queen Elizabeth for example. She was the best thing to happen to England in God know's how long. However, I do also believe that men have a very strong nature for ruling, leading, and making intense decisions that blanket over a large majority.

Do not mistake me, I am a very strong willed woman and I like to be in charge. I also believe that in this case, where the world is based in a very traditional world with old world social structures, it makes sense for the men to take the crown before the women.

I was also asked to clarify the laws that govern the crown being passed to a daughter. In the case that either the son(s) fail to finish the quest, or there aren't any sons, the crown is passed to a daughter. I'm still working out details of what this ritual is. I know it involves her being courted by various surrounding princes. At any rate, she must take a suitor, at which point she marries and then can take the crown.

One thing that is unique about this aspect of the passing the crown is that it is a very political move. It is extremely strategic the way that they choose a prince to marry the princess. They take into account the size, population, resources, location and various other factors before choosing. She does have a say, a very big say, in who is chosen, but ultimately, it is a chance for the kingdom (still unnamed, darn it) to expand in a positive direction. The queen and princess(es) can be vary important parts of the kingdom's dynamics. Women all over work and take care of families and function just fine without the help of men. Often times, women are more successful because men are weak... okay, I'm kidding, but there are women in positions of power in this world. It isn't uncommon and you can expect to see some very strong female characters in this trilogy.

One more thing, I was asked if this has ever happened before. At first I said only once has the crown been passed to a female, but I've revised it. It has happened at least three times. Twice in the case of the king and queen only having daughters and once in the wake of failures to complete quests. I think I'm going to write up a history for each of these. I'll probably post them too.

I might have someone to do some concept art for me! Hopefully in the future we can get some fun stuff posted for visuals. Keep an eye out for that. Okay, all done for today. This is longer than expected. TODAY IS QUESTION DAY! Ask me what you want to know and I'll answer them tomorrow!

((I am having major spelling issues today. Geesh.))

Passing the Crown

Sorry this post is coming a bit late to you all. I have been out of the house and then Heroes caught my attention and, well, you know. At any rate. Here's more info on traditions!

The crown is passed to the first born son of the standing king. Of course, as I explained in yesterday's blog, the Quest of Kings must first be completed by the prince by his twenty-first birthday. In the case that the first son does not complete his quest, the second son will attempt the Quest of Kings. You can imagine the kind of hostility that would create between sons. If the current king does not have any sons, a daughter may take the thrown, but only after she is wed to a prince from another kingdom. This is definitely not what any of the families want, since it would mean creating an alliance with another kingdom that may or may not be stable. It could be a good thing and it could be horrible.

There is of course, the theoretical notion that if the king has any illegitimate sons, they may be up for the crown if they step forward with proof that they are royalty. They too would have to complete the quest. A hostile take over has never occurred, but it isn't completely insane to think that it might. That is only the most extreme cases.

This is a quick post today! Hopefully it was worth reading and tomorrow you will get some information on the legend of the Oracle and it's origins. No comment discussion today, but hopefully you comment anyway!

The Quest of Kings

I've decided to start of with a few legends and traditions that come along with this story. It will provide you with a little backstory into this world (which I still haven't named yet, my bad). Since I won't be giving away a lot of information on the official plot, I figured it would be nice for you all to have something fun to think about.

So, the first history lesson about this unnamed world? The Quest of Kings. This is the quest that our hero, Julian, is embarking on. The Quest of Kings is an ancient tradition passed down from dynasty to dynasty. The only way that the crown can be passed to the prince is when he completes his quest.

For as long as the kingdom has existed, this tradition has been in practice. The oldest son celebrates his twentieth birthday by a grand ball that is thrown for him by the king and queen. He is then given the family sword, as well as a family crest that is passed on from king to prince. It is the only proof that the prince is allowed to carry on him that he is in fact part of the royal family. From the day of his twentieth birthday, he has one year exactly to complete his quest.

This quest begins with his search of the Oracle, a legendary wise man who holds the secrets of the kingdom... or so he says. I'll give you more on the Oracle later. Once he's found the him, the Oracle gives the prince his mission. It usually involves him finding an ancient artifact. They are never easy to find and the Oracle does not give hints, clues or maps to the location where it is hidden.

You can see that I'm clearly trying to torture poor Julian. First he has to go on a quest with limited information and limited resources and he can't just go find some artifact, he has to find a specific one, but only after he finds this Oracle person! Oh, how evil am I? Its good.

More on the laws regarding passing the crown tomorrow!

And the question for discussion today, if you could name a mythical, fantasy kingdom with a steampunk flair, what would you choose?

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